Introducing Personal Space

My newsletter on culture, design, and life at home

Didn’t intend to have Thea on my lap for this pic but she insisted on hopping up. Photo by Todd Midler.

Welcome to Personal Space, a newsletter in which I’ll cover culture, design, and life at home. Each week, I’ll write about interesting discoveries found IRL and online. One week’s edition could feature what I’ve been able to dig up on a unique forgotten home that’s barely traceable online, the next could be an exploration of the production design of some movie from the ‘80s, another could recount a visit to a gallery or house museum. There will also be home tours with original photography by my partner, Todd Midler. (He took the photos you see in this edition, too!)

Overall, the newsletter is about how physical space reveals something about the person (or people) who curated it. It’s about embracing journeys down the rabbit hole and appreciating the way that these explorations shape one’s personal taste and sensibilities. It’s also about the joy of sharing passions. Many of the things that I’ll be writing about here are the things that I’ve frantically texted friends about throughout 2024—hopefully this outlet will let them off the hook a bit.

If you’re not already familiar with my work, in my near decade long career as a journalist I’ve covered design and culture for a range of outlets including Architectural Digest, Dwell, Vulture, Curbed, WSJ., Nylon, Vox, Complex, Electric Literature, Stereogum, Vice, AFM, and The Believer, among other publications.

Here are a few of my favorite stories from through the years:

• An interview with Eileen Myles for Nylon, in which the poet memorably mentioned the importance of “dog-level art,” ie. artwork leaned against a wall so that a dog can easily see it. (2017)

• For Vox, a reported story on the Hummer as a symbol for early aughts American masculinity (2020)

• A fun voice-y piece on M3GAN’s use of Memphis Milano for AD (2023)

• An article that draws a line between the Tumblr string light aesthetic and TikTok’s colored LED obsession for Dwell (2023)

• For AD, speaking with five people who brought Redbox machines into their homes (2024)

I love my blue office, even if it sometimes makes me feel like the wackiest person in the Zoom room. Photo by Todd Midler.

I’ve also helmed a number of personal projects. In high school, I ran a zine with contributors across the US, Canada, and the UK. In the time since then, I’ve run a small zine press, maintained a book recommendation website, curated art shows, wrote a daily newsletter, held a monthslong bake sale, and penned a recently defunct weekly crossword puzzle newsletter. I miss the friendlier internet of the ‘10s and hopefully I’ll be able to create my own little corner in that spirit here. I love having the room to play around in these spaces that I’ve created primarily with the intent of connecting with other people.

Finally, a note on the logo and illustrations by Sarah Kennedy. Along with being a brilliant designer and artist, Sarah is an old friend who I met through my online zine uhhh 11 years ago? The tenacity with which she approaches her own creative pursuits is endlessly inspiring to me, so I couldn’t be more excited to have her work in the newsletter. (I’m also thrilled by the sense of continuity, given that she designed page backgrounds for the zine I edited over a decade ago.)

These illustrations depict some of my favorite things in my office, where I’m writing to you from. I think she did a splendid job of capturing the joyful energy of what I’m trying to make here. I’ve added a full breakdown of those items and furniture pieces to the about page, in case you’re curious.

Anyway, thanks again for joining me. I hope you’ll consider subscribing and sharing this newsletter with any pals you think would be into it.